Farquhar Blog: 28 Oct – 4 Nov 2015

Week 5 of the Farquhar season started in unusual fashion with our guests arriving a day later than originally planned. Some severe weather resulted in a delay in the flight schedule and a day’s fishing lost. Nonetheless our group for the week hosted by The Urban Angler of New York, USA arrived on Farquhar on Thursday morning with high hopes for their adventure with us.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Our weather conditions improved dramatically during the course of the week that resulted in favorable fishing conditions. Clear skies and moderate winds were the norm and welcomed by the guide team and guests. The GT fishing was special! Our first full day on the flats was mayhem and saw 24 GT’s landed, 10 fish a piece for Long and Matthew with the husband and wife team of George and Suzanne chipping in with 4 fish. The largest fish landed on day one was hooked and landed by Suzanne, an exceptionally powerful 94cm GT, which was in fact Suzanne’s first saltwater fish, caught on a fly! During the remaining days spent on the flats another 16 fish were landed. In terms of size we sadly could not break the meter mark, however we came close with five fish in measuring over 90cm (94cm, 94cm, 93cm, 93cm and 91cm. Apart from the fish landed, countless more fish were spotted on the flats and a fair few hooked and lost. Considering we only had five days out on the flats these are impressive indeed!

Our Bumbies too kept us busy during the week. Our guests were amazed by the numerous shoals of Bumphead Parrot fish tailing in a multitude of different scenarios, ranging from turbulent surf zones to calm turtle grass flats. With the fishing conditions having improved, we managed good success, with multiple fish hooked and landed. Fergus Kelly and Long Nguyne shared a special day together with each angler successfully landing their first Bumpheads on fly. Suzanne our only lady for the week seriously wanted to catch this bizarre looking creature. She managed to hook two fish on the last afternoon, sadly however both fish managed to end the fight prematurely. But she was not done yet and with little less than an hour of fishing left; a good cast was made to a school of tailing Bumpies. The line went tight and the fight was on, a long first run and some serious coral dodging resulted in a landed Bumphead for Suzanne….a fantastic ending to a fantastic week for Suzanne.

The Bonefish were out and about this week with multiple fish landed each day. Single cruisers and shoaling Bonefish were targeted with good success, their blistering first runs putting a large smile on Fergus Kelley’s face has he set the hook on his first Bonefish. He proceeded to put some hurt on the fish and successfully landed more than his fair share.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The Bluewater fishing ticked over in its usual manor. Sailfish were seen frequently during the course of the week, a couple fish were hook but due to their incredible acrobatics the fish managed to shake the hook. Matthew Badger however managed to stay connected to a wonderful Sailfish of 75 inches. After an incredible first run that tore into his backing at an alarming rate the fish later succumbed to good rod angles and some serious pressure. Matt was super stoked with this fish as you can imagine.

In summary, the week was somewhat special with 40 x GTs, 3 x Bumpies, 25 x Bluefish Trevally, good numbers of Bonefish, countless Grouper species, Yellowfish Tuna and a single Sailfish all landed on fly in 5 days fishing.